Foodie Weekend – M’Bour Poulet (Chicken)Yassa

travelogue

Welcome to M’Bour, Senegal. The land of the Pink Lake, the famous house of slaves, Goreé Island, the sultry sounds of Youssou N’Dour and the tallest statue in West Africa…

M’Bour or Mbour is a city in the Thiès Region of Senegal. It lies on the Petite Côte, approximately eighty kilometres south of Dakar. It is known well to be the most touristic side of Senegal because of its high living costs.

This week our taste buds have led us to try out the M’Bour people’s staple dish, Poulet Yassa, which is chicken in caramelized onion sauce. This dish actually originates from the Casamance region and is served in every Senegalese restaurant worldwide. If you are not a fan of poultry, you can substitute the dish with fish.

Ingredients:

½ cup peanut (or any) oil

Whole chicken, cut into serving portions

4 – 6 onions, diced

8 tbsp lemon juice

8 tbsp cider vinegar

1 bay leaf

4 cloves of garlic, minced

2 tbsp Dijon mustard

1 tbsp seasoning (try Maggi for best results)

1 chilli pepper, finely chopped

Cayenne or red pepper

Black pepper

Salt

1 small cabbage cut into chunks

2 large carrots, cut into chunks

Method:

Mix all ingredients and marinate the chicken with it (except the vegetables). To get the best results, you should leave the mix marinating overnight.

Take out the chicken from the marinade sauce and put the sauce to the side. It would be used to make the Yassa.

With the chicken, you can make a choice of what to do with it; grill in the oven/over charcoal fire or sauté it on both sides for a few minutes.

While chicken is browning, scoop out the onions from the marinade and sauté in a large saucepan for a few minutes.

Add the marinade to the sautéd onions and add your vegetables and slow boil so it turns into a sauce.

Reduce heat.

Add the chicken to the sauce and leave until the chicken is fully cooked

You can serve this sauce with rice, fufu or couscous. Anyone of the starches will sit well in your belly.